Talking About Colombia

The 1,500 people of the community of San José de Apartado, in the corridor between the departments of Antioquia, Córdoba, and Chocó, declare themselves neutral to Colombia’s hostilities. They are a community of displaced families, and they try to live peacefully although they inhabit land that serves as a drug path and so is much coveted by the armed groups. They are in a “zona caliente,” surrounded by soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries, and guerrillas, and consequently, 12 percent of the community’s members have been killed, accused of aiding one side or another and so ending up persecuted by all sides of the conflict.

The community’s Declaration and an Internal Regulation is to not participate directly or indirectly in the hostilities, to not carry weapons or explosives, to not offer support to any of the sides in the conflict, to abstain from helping the armed factions solve internal, personal or family problems, and to promise to participate in community works.

Through incredible resilience and dedication, they have built aqueducts, roads, schools, a health center, a community warehouse, and hen houses. They have brought teachers. They have cultivated community crops, like cocoa, banana, rice, corn, and sugar cane, so everyone can eat for free—and to protect themselves from road blockades. They have even started a community radio station.

Read a worth-while report about San José de Apartado from CIP Americas here.